Monday, January 21, 2013

I could eat Tortilla Soup every day and be completely happy. In fact, the day I made this soup I had tortilla soup for lunch at Chick-fil-a (Miss F and I have a shared love of it.) When I pinned this recipe on Pinterest, I was intriqued. Cream cheese in a blender? Well, it totally works. C really enjoyed the soup as well, though next time he wants the tortilla strips to be fried. He was not a fan of the baked tortilla strips, they weren't crunchy enough for his liking. My thinking is that the get soft in the soup anyhow, so why not save the mess of frying the tortillas? Miss F loved this soup so much she went back for seconds AND requested it in her lunchbox the next day. Thanks to That's Some Good Cookin for the inspiration!

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken, half of the tortillas, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, chipotle and tomato paste. Sauté until onion is translucent, stirring as needed, about 2 minutes. Add the 3 cups of the chicken stock, tomatoes (with juice), black beans, and corn to pot. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat.

Pour the remaining cup of chicken stock into a blender. Add the softened cream cheese and puree until smooth. Pour the broth and cream cheese slurry into the soup pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low, simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the soup is cooking, preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Place the tortilla strips on a baking sheet in a single layer and spray with cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the strips are crispy; tossing once or twice during baking so that the strips will bake evenly.

I'm so glad that you liked this soup. I know that trying a new recipe is always a risk and I'm breathing a sigh of relief that the recipe worked well for you. As for the tortilla strips not being crispy, just bake them for a little longer in the oven and make sure that they are in a single layer so that each strip is exposed to the heat. Baking gives a dryer crisp than does frying. Personally? I'm with your husband on liking fried strips better, but I am definitely with you on cutting down on the mess of frying by baking them instead. :)